Free Chance Of Rain by Laurel Veil

grinned. “We laughed, and then I mentioned you wanted a car and gave him the deets.” She reached for her backpack. “You know, we barely got anystudying done, because he was too busy listening in on you and your Latin lover.”
    “Really?” My smile covered my entire face.
    “He may have told you y’all were just friends, but I don’t know. It seems like he likes you.”

    When we walked into first period, Angel and Trent were already there. They each had an empty beanbag next to them, and they looked at me and smiled.
    Bri immediately pretended to show me something on her phone. We turned so they couldn’t see our faces. Then Bri typed:
    Who ya gonna choose? LOL
.
    Then she typed:
    Gonna make this e
-
z 4 u
.
    She turned and flopped down next to Angel. Now I wouldn’t hurt his feelings, and I could sit next to Trent! I made a mental note to be sure to thank her for
suffering
through an entire class period sitting next to one of the hottest guys in our senior class. It was unbelievable what my dear friend endured for my sake. I bit my lip so I wouldn’t smile.
    Just then Lacey walked in. Without being too obvious, I scrambled to the beanbag next to Trent before she even saw that it was available.
    “Ashley,” he said.
    “Trent,” I responded just as coolly.
    It was a great day to be teamed up with him. Our assignment was to take turns reading to each other. He pulled my beanbag close to his. “There. That’s better.” He smiled.
Don’t overanalyze. Don’t overanalyze
. “I couldn’t hear you from way over there.”
    I read from
The Tell-Tale Heart
until Ms. Elliott told us to switch.
    Trent took the book from me. When his hand brushed mine, I had to remind myself to breathe. I leaned my head back to listen, and he leanedtoward me, only inches from my ear, and read in a voice that was barely above a whisper. I watched his lips form every word. I’d never experienced Poe like this before.
    “‘I saw it with perfect distinctness—all a dull blue, with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow in my bones,’” Trent read.
    How could anyone make that sound sexy? He had a gift.
    “‘Villains!’” Trent continued reading. “‘Dissemble no more! I admit the deed!—tear up the planks!—here, here!—it is the beating of his hideous heart!’”
    I was in such a trance that I was startled when the bell sounded. Trent laughed.

    In Spanish we watched a movie about the culture of Latin America. The room was dark, and I felt so relaxed that I almost fell asleep. It must have been because of my bedtime story in first period.
    By the time art rolled around, I was wide-awake again.
    We got to experiment with clay, and I felt like I was back in kindergarten. Mrs. Frost told us we’d have the opportunity to make something a little later in the semester, so we should go ahead and start thinking about what we’d like to do. I decided I’d make my mom a coffee mug. I hadn’t made her anything since I was in elementary school, and she’d love it.

    As Trent and I walked to his car, he asked me, “What do you want for lunch?”
    “I feel like—”
    Before I could finish answering, Angel walked by, “See ya later, Ash.”
    “Mexican.” I grinned, biting my bottom lip.
    “Get in the car.”
    At the Blue Iguana, Trent and I ordered beef fajitas for two. We shared a booth near a window and ate lots of chips and dip while we waited. Their salsa was homemade, and I wasn’t sure what was in the green sauce, but it was creamy and delicious. Their chips were the best around—so thin you could read the menu through them. And they were always salted just right.
    I heard our fajitas before I saw them. They were sizzling in sautéed onions, and they smelled wonderful. I placed a hot, handmade tortilla on my plate and added some beef and a lot of onions. Then I smothered it in shredded cheese and sour cream.
    I was halfway through devouring my first fajita before I realized I was in my own little